Events

VCU Libraries sponsors many educational and literary events. All events are free and open to the public. To join our mailing list and receive information about upcoming events, please contact Antonia Vassar at (804) 827-1165 or vassaram@vcu.edu. To receive email announcements, we invite you to join the Friends of the Library.

To attend events

For events on the Monroe Park campus, parking is available for a fee in the West Broad Street, West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. On the MCV campus, parking is available in the 8th Street parking deck. Doors generally open 30 minutes before a program begins. Seating is first-come, first-served. For additional information or special accomodations, call events coordinator Gregory G. Kimbrell at (804) 828-0593.

In January and February of 2014, Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences invited submissions of microscopic images from VCU students, faculty and staff. More than 40 images were submitted for consideration, and 24 are featured in the exhibit held in the library's gallery. Images were analyzed and scored by Scott Henderson, Lara Mabry, Rene Olivares-Navarrete and Ning Zhang on the basis of aesthetic appeal, technical skill and scientific significance. Anders Hånell, Ryan Clohessy and Gireesh Reddy are recipients of prizes and best-in-show honors.

Natasha Trethewey, United States Poet Laureate (2012–2014), winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and Robert W. Woodruff Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University reads from her poems and then engages in conversation with Claudia Emerson, VCU professor and acclaimed poet and winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Concerns voiced by the public and scientists suggest the systems for ensuring the reproducibility of biomedical research are in need of repair. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is exploring ways to strengthen the rigor and reproducibility of research findings. Learn more from thought leader Lawrence Tabak in a presentation that takes to task current research practice.

Members of faculty in the humanities at VCU have an impressive record of scholarly productivity and are recognized, both nationally and internationally, for their significant contributions to our understanding of the human condition across cultures, throughout the past and in the present. The new "Meet VCU's Authors" series from the Humanities Research Center invites members of the Richmond community as well as colleagues and students from VCU and other local universities to come and meet VCU's authors as they talk about their recently published books and answer questions about their work.

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences is proud to host a traveling exhibit, "Surviving and Thriving: AIDS, Politics, and Culture." The exhibit, developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health, illustrates an iconic history of AIDS alongside lesser-known examples of historical figures who changed the course of the pandemic. Utilizing a variety of historic photographs, pamphlets and publications, "Surviving and Thriving" is divided into five historical investigations, each of which highlights how different groups responded to AIDS. Early responders cared for the sick, fought homophobia and promoted new practices to keep people healthy. Scientists and public-health officials struggled to understand the disease and how it spread. Politicians remained largely silent until the epidemic became too big to ignore. Activists demanded that people with AIDS be part of the solution.

Members of faculty in the humanities at VCU have an impressive record of scholarly productivity and are recognized, both nationally and internationally, for their significant contributions to our understanding of the human condition across cultures, throughout the past and in the present. The new "Meet VCU's Authors" series from the Humanities Research Center invites members of the Richmond community as well as colleagues and students from VCU and other local universities to come and meet VCU's authors as they talk about their recently published books and answer questions about their work.

Roger Reeves, winner of the 2014 Levis Reading Prize for King Me, reads from his book and then participates in a question-and-answer session with the audience. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. The event will be followed by a book sale and signing.

This day of drop-in workshops for graduate students and advanced researchers features topics such as making more effective data visualizations, finding your voice in scholarly conversations, locating possible collaborators and finding inspiration to make your research process better, faster and smarter.

In conjunction with the international Open Access Week initiative, VCU Libraries presents a series of exciting open-access events that will be of interest to faculty, early career researchers, graduate and undergraduate students.

The world badly needs the innovation that comes from continual scientific and technical advances. And both the knowledge and the problem-solving skills of scientists are critical for every nation, no matter how rich or poor. Every society also needs a "scientific temper," the type of rationality and tolerance that stems from the central values of science: honesty, generosity, an insistence on logic and evidence and a respect for all ideas and opinions, regardless of their source of origin. Learn more as leader and advocate Bruce Alberts discusses the important role of science and science education to our future.

The Leigh Street Armory in Richmond's historic Jackson Ward neighborhood, thought to be the first armory in United States history to have been manned by African American militiamen, has served important military and cultural roles since its completion in 1895. This exhibit tells the complex story of the Leigh Street Armory, focusing on four periods in its ongoing life: its beginnings, its military use by African American militiamen, its conversion to a community center and the present-day project seeking to save it from its decline.

Helene Wecker, winner of the 2014 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for The Golem and the Jinni, reads from her book and is then joined by her agent for a discussion of the evolution of the book from original idea to first draft to published work. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event will be followed by a public reception and book sale and signing.

Members of faculty in the humanities at VCU have an impressive record of scholarly productivity and are recognized, both nationally and internationally, for their significant contributions to our understanding of the human condition across cultures, throughout the past and in the present. The new "Meet VCU's Authors" series from the Humanities Research Center invites members of the Richmond community as well as colleagues and students from VCU and other local universities to come and meet VCU's authors as they talk about their recently published books and answer questions about their work.

In honor of Veterans Day, Tompkins-McCaw Library opens a new exhibit on MCV's Base Hospital 45, in service of France during World War I. This unit of health-care workers was formed in 1917 and commanded by Dr. Stuart McGuire, who at the time was dean of the Medical College of Virginia. The unit was deployed to France in July 1918 and worked out of a converted infantry barracks in Toul, roughly eight miles from the front lines. The hospital treated 17,438 casualties, although only 350 lives were lost. The exhibit features artifacts from the library's Special Collections and Archives department.

Tompkins-McCaw Library presents a new exhibit on MCV's Base Hospital 45, in service of France during World War I. This unit of health-care workers was formed in 1917 and commanded by Dr. Stuart McGuire, who at the time was dean of the Medical College of Virginia. The unit was deployed to France in July 1918 and worked out of a converted infantry barracks in Toul, roughly eight miles from the front lines. The hospital treated 17,438 casualties, although only 350 lives were lost. The exhibit features artifacts from the library's Special Collections and Archives department.

Digital pragmata flourish at the nexus of research, teaching and creativity. They can be digitized artifacts, collaboratively edited virtual models, 3D-printed replicas and a thousand other projects. How do the virtual and the material worlds interact with each other, as we increasingly digitize the physical and manifest the digital? What new possibilities does this meeting ground offer—in the classroom, the laboratory or the studio?

Graduate students, faculty, administrators and staff interested in learning more about data management issues and best practices are invited to participate in a Data Management Bootcamp sponsored by seven Virginia institutions, Jan. 7–9, 2015. This collaborative event features experts from across the state and provides opportunities for local, hands-on practical experience. Topics include: finding and reusing data, documentation and metadata, data wrangling, rights and access, database creation and more. Madelyn Wessel of VCU University Counsel will speak on the legal aspects of data rights, access and protection of intellectual property.

Andreas Vesalius, author of the landmark text De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body), is often considered the founder of modern anatomy. In honor of his 500th birthday, which fell on December 31, Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences presents a special exhibit featuring works by Vesalius, including a showing of a rare 1555 edition of De humani corporis fabrica. Cake will be served at the opening on Thursday, January 15, from noon to 1:50 p.m. in the first-floor Special Collections and Archives reading room. Stop by and celebrate Vesalius and the progress of medicine.

Members of faculty in the humanities at VCU have an impressive record of scholarly productivity and are recognized, both nationally and internationally, for their significant contributions to our understanding of the human condition across cultures, throughout the past and in the present. The new "Meet VCU's Authors" series from the Humanities Research Center invites members of the Richmond community as well as colleagues and students from VCU and other local universities to come and meet VCU's authors as they talk about their recently published books and answer questions about their work.

More than half a century after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, long after the official end to "separate but equal," deep racial injustice persists in our society. Unequal access to education remains a dominate force shaping our communities and is seen widely as a pressing civil rights issue today. ACLU Racial Justice Program Director Dennis Parker will examine the extent of educational inequity and how our society pushes some children from the education system to the justice system. He will examine how implicit bias defines the modern United States in nuanced ways that stubbornly obstruct our progress toward equality for all. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event will be followed by a public reception.

Rob Sabatini applies the same pursuit of knowledge, attention to detail and excellence in technique to his profession of periodontics as he does to his avocation—wildlife photography. A boyhood love of the outdoors and an early interest in amateur photography have grown into a passion of adulthood. In 2009, he learned of a rookery of great blue herons on the James River in downtown Richmond. He hit the river with his first camera and an old 100-300mm lens and discovered a creative outlet that has taken him into the plains of East Africa, the river banks of the Amazon Basin, to U.S. national parks and his own backyard in search of images of glorious wildlife. The images in this exhibit were chosen to highlight some of Rob’s favorites over the past three years, with selections that highlight subjects from both travel expeditions and more local venues. The 2015 exhibition at Tompkins-McCaw is his first.

Statistics show that over 183 million people in United States play video games at least one hour a day, and virtual worlds of all types are now accessible to us on demand. With this kind of proliferation, can we tell the difference between what is virtual and what is real? This presentation will look at virtual worlds in terms of how they not only connect with reality but also how they inform and shape how we function in our daily lives. From frequent flier miles, to earning mayoral status in the mobile app Foursquare, to leadership development in video games, to discovering new football moves in Madden Football, persistent virtual worlds influence our thoughts and behaviors in surprising ways.

Members of faculty in the humanities at VCU have an impressive record of scholarly productivity and are recognized, both nationally and internationally, for their significant contributions to our understanding of the human condition across cultures, throughout the past and in the present. The new "Meet VCU's Authors" series from the Humanities Research Center invites members of the Richmond community as well as colleagues and students from VCU and other local universities to come and meet VCU's authors as they talk about their recently published books and answer questions about their work.

In his critically-acclaimed book, Five Miles Away, A World Apart, James E.Ryan, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, traces the fortunes of two schools in Richmond, Virginia—one in the city and the other in the suburbs. Ryan shows how court rulings in the 1970s that limited the scope of desegregation laid the groundwork for the sharp disparities between urban and suburban public schools that persist to this day. Weaving together court opinions, social science research and compelling interviews with students, teachers and principals, Ryan explains why all the major education reforms since the 1970s—including school finance litigation, school choice and the No Child Left Behind Act—have failed to bridge the gap between urban and suburban schools and have unintentionally entrenched segregation by race and class. Join us for an evening with Dr. Ryan, exploring the state of education today.

Please join us at 2 p.m. at the construction site on the Compass for a traditional topping-off ceremony where we celebrate our progress by lifting the final beam needed to complete the structure into place.

In the "catalog" of Jewish beliefs, the concepts of resurrection and immortality may be the least credible to the contemporary mind. But still there are those who accept them not only as acts of faith but as rational prospects. No one has proved or disproved life beyond death. But the idea persists, and the general conviction that death is not the end endures. One thing seems sure: The hope of eternal life crystallizes the teaching of Judaism about the divine worth and character of human personality.

This day of drop-in workshops for graduate students and advanced researchers will help you read scholarly texts and media, find grant funding, explore fair use of images and use Google and grey literature to make your research process better, faster and smarter.

Scott McCloud, the cartoonist of The Sculptor and comics theoretician behind the groundbreaking Understanding Comics, will present on the language of comic arts. Following the talk, there will be a live Q&A moderated by comics historian Christopher Irving, author of Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics. The event will be followed by a book sale and signing.

Technology Services and VCU Libraries present the 2015 VCU Tech Fair on Tuesday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the VCU Student Commons and on Wednesday, April 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences. The event features hands-on demos, presentations, free light lunch and giveaways.